Deprivation by postcode

The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) is the government's official measure of relative deprivation in England. The 2025 edition splits England into 33,755 small neighbourhoods, called LSOAs, of around 1,500 people each, and ranks every one from 1 (most deprived) to 33,755 (least deprived). A decile groups them into tenths: decile 1 is the most deprived 10% and decile 10 the least deprived 10%.

The overall score combines seven areas, each weighted differently:

• Income (22.5%): people on low incomes, including those claiming means-tested benefits.
• Employment (22.5%): people of working age who want to work but can't, through unemployment, illness or caring.
• Education, skills and training (13.5%): school results and adult qualifications.
• Health and disability (13.5%): early deaths, illness and disability.
• Crime (9.3%): recorded violence, burglary, theft and criminal damage.
• Barriers to housing and services (9.3%): affordability, overcrowding and distance to shops, GPs and schools.
• Living environment (9.3%): housing condition, air quality and road accidents.

Reading the results

Deprivation is relative: it tells you how a neighbourhood compares with others, not whether it's a nice place to live. Plenty of decile 3 or 4 areas are friendly, well-connected places, and rural areas often score badly on "barriers to services" simply because the nearest GP or supermarket is a drive away. It's also an average across the whole neighbourhood, so individual streets can differ.

Use it alongside sold prices, school results, crime and broadband on each postcode page, or put two places side by side with Compare two areas.